Pump means



June 24, 1969 w. A. KABELS PUMP MEANS Filed Feb. s, 1967 #fram/525 United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 103--103 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pump means including a pump case having an impeller means and volute quickly removably mounted therein, a shim means for adjusting the clearance between the impeller means `and volute and also includes a seal plate means which is quickly detachably secured to the interior of the pump case.

Heretofore, pumps were necessarily core casted due to the design thereof which resulted in an expensive method of manufacture. Additionally, the existing pumps do not permit the interchanging of the impeller and volute means therein to permit the repair of the pump or to permit the specifications thereof to be altered. Also, the existing pumps do not provide a convenient means for adjusting the clearance between the impeller blades and the volute wear plate surface without the necessity of completely dismantling the pump.

Therefore, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a pump means including a pump case having an impeller means and volute quickly removably mounted therein.

A further object of this invention is to provide a pump means which has an impeller means and volute detachably mounted therein Which may be conveniently replaced with impellers and volutes of different construction.

A further object of this invention is to provide a pump means which may be quickly and easily dismantled.

A further object of this invention is to provide a pump means which eliminates the need for core casting thereof.

A further object of this invention is to provide a shim means for a pump means which may be easily inserted to adjust the clearance between the impeller blade and the volute wear plate surface.

A lfurther object olf this invention is to provide a pump means which is economical of manufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.

These and other features and advantages of this invention will become :readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following description when taken into consideration with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the pump means mounted on a wheel frame means and operatively secured to an engine means;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the pump with portions thereof cutaway to more :fully illustrate the invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view as would be seen on line 3 3 of FIG. 2; and

F-IG. 4 is a side view of the shim element.

The pump of this invention is of the self priming, centrifugal type and is generally designated by the reference numeral 10. Pump 10 is mounted on a frame means 11 which is wheel supported as seen in FIG. 1. A support member 13 is secured to frame means 11 (FIG. 1) and a towing bar 15 extends from frame means 11 as also seen in FIG. l. A conventional gasoline engine 17 is mounted on frame means 11 and has a drive shaft 19 extending therefrom.

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Pump 10 includes a pump case 21 having at least one tab portion 23 extending therefrom which is adapted to receive a -bolt 25 extending therethrough to facilitate the attachment of case 21 to frame means 11 (rFIG. 2). The rearward end of case 21 is open and is adapted to receive a case cover 27 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2. Cover 27 is secured to case :21 by a plurality of bolts 29 (FIG. 1). Cover 27 has a tapered portion 31 extending therefrom which is adapted to have a suction flange 33 secured thereto by bolts 35. Seal 37 is positioned between ange 33 and tapered portion 31 (FIG. 2) and a hinge type check valve means 39 is mounted Within lflange 33. `Check valve means 39 is Ihinged at its upper end and is adapted to open inwardly lwith respect to the interior off the pump upon activation thereof and is adapted to close to the position of FIG. 2 when the pump is inoperative. As seen in FIG. 2, the lower end of check valve means 39 abuts against flange 33 to limit the movement thereof in an outward direction with respect to the interior of pump 10.

Case cover 27 has an inwardly extending throat portion 41 which is in communication with the interior of such flange 33 when. check valve means 39 is open. The inner end of throat portion 41 is open, is cylindrical in shape and has a recess 43 formed therein thereby defining a shoulder 45. A seal 47 of the O`ring type is mounted in throat portion y41 as seen in lFIG. 2. The inner end of throat portion -41 extends inwardly beyond the inner end 49 of case cover 27 (FllG. 2). 1Inner end 49 of case cover 27 is provided with a recess portion 51 thereby defining a shoulder 53. Recess portion 51 is adapted to receive the outer end 55 of pump case 21 and a seal 57 is positioned therebtween. As previously stated, case cover 27 is secured to case 21 by means of bolts 29.

The inner end o'f case 21 is provided with a smooth, flat surface 59 which is ring shaped as illustrated in FIG. 3 and which extends around the open inner end thereof. FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the configuration of the inner end of case 21 and is seen to include a main body portion 61 having three raised rib portions 63 extending therefrom to surface 59. The upper end of main -body portion 61 of case 21 is provided. with a discharge opening 67 and a discharge ange 69 is secured to case 21 by bolts 71 so that the interior of flange 69 is in communication ywith opening 67.

An adapter 73 is secured to engine 17 by bolts 75 (FIG. l) and includes 'an inner end 77, a smooth, flat vertically disposed outer surface 79 and a housing 81 extending therebetween which is provided with a plurality of openings or windows 83. A lifting bolt is threadably secured to housing 81 to facilitate the transportation of the pump and engine. As seen in FIIG. 2, drive shaft 19 extends from engine 17 into the interior of adapter 73. A plurality of horseshoe shaped shims I87 are positioned between surface 59 of case 21 and surface 79 of adapter 73 and are held in place by bolts 89 which secure adapter 73 and case 21 together. Obviously, any even number of bolts 89 can be utilized but six are preferred with three groups of shims (FIG. 3) being used in conjunction therewith.

A volute 91 with its intake end 93 being received by recess 43 of throat portion 41 is positioned within case 21 and is secured thereto by means of three bolts 95 eX- tending through spaced apart anges 97 of volute 91 and ar-m members 63 of case 21. A ilat ring-shaped seal plate 99 is positioned between the end of volute 91 and the inner end of case 21 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2. As also seen in FIG. 2, volute 91 has a wear plate surface 10'1 in the interior theerof and also is provided with a priming opening 103` and dischrage 'opening 104. An impeller 105 is threadably mounted on the inner end of drive shaft 19 and is maintained thereon by a locking screw means 107 threadably extending through impeller 105 and engaging the end of shaft 19. Impeller 105 is provided with a central hub portion 109 having a plurality of impeller vanes 111 4radially extending therefrom, each of which have a wear or bearing surface 113 which are closely positioned adjacent wear plate surface 101 of volute 91. The peripheral surface 117 is positioned closely adjacent the inner end of seal plate 99 and the inner end of case 21 as seen in FIG. 2. A bearing and seal housing 119 embraces shaft 19 laterally of impeller 105 and has a mechanical seal means 121 including rotating portion 123 and stationary portion 125, bushing 127 and seal 129 embracing shaft 19 as clearly seen in FIG. 2. The periphery 131 of housing 119 is provided with a seal 133 mounted therein which sealably engages case 21 (FIG. 2). Housing 119 is provided with a tapped bore 135 which is adapted to receive a suitable oil or grease fitting (not shown).

Shim 87 has an inner end 137, an outer end 139 and opposite sides. Shim 87 has a central tab portion 141 extending therefrom at its outer end 139 and is provided with a pair of elongated openings 143 and 145 formed therein and extending into its inner end 137 adjacent its opposite ends. Openings 143 and 145 are adapted to receive adjacent pairs of bolts 89 (FIG. 3) and when so positioned, tab 141 extends outwardly of the inner end of pump case 21 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In operation, suction flange 33 would be threadably secured to a suitable hose or the like which would extend into the fluid to be pumped. `Discharge flange 69 would be threadably secured to a suitable hose or the like. The activation of engine 17 will cause drive shaft 19 to be rotated which in turn causes the rotation of impeller means 105 within volute 91. The wear surfaces 115 on the impeller blades pass in close proximity to the wear plate surfaces 101 on the volute 91 as previously described. The rotation of impellermeans 105 causes fluid to be drawn into the interior of suction flange 33, past check valve means 39, into the interior of throat portion 41 and then into the interior of volute 91. The fluid is discharged from volute 91 by means of opening 104 formed therein and the fluid is then dischraged from the pump through a discharge flange 69. The engagement of the outer end of volute 91 with the recess portion on throat 41 together with the seal 47 positioned therebetween prevents any undesirable communication between the interior of throat portion 41 and chamber 147 in pump case 21. Seal plate 99 and its relationship to volute 91 prevents leakage between the inner portion of the volute and chamber 147. The periphery of impeller means 105 through a close clearance to seal plate 99 reduces leakage from the interior of the pump case 21 thus reducing pressure in the seal cavity area behind the impeller. Bolts 95 detachably maintain seal plate 99 in position to prevent any undesirable -movement thereof. Seal 133 on housing 119 also aids in preventing leakage from the interior of volute 91 to the exterior of the case 21. The rotating and stationary seal means on shaft 19 within housing 119 function in conventional fashion to provide a sealing means and to prevent leakage of uid from the interior of the case 21. Lock screw 107 is provided to prevent undesirable movement of the impeller means 105 with respect to the drive shaft 19. Drain plug 149 is threadably secured to the lower end of case cover 31 to permit the fluid within the pump case to be drained if so desired.

After prolonged use, the wear surface 115 on the impeller blades and the wear surface 101 on volute 91 will become worn thereby creating an undesirable clearance therebetween which reduces the efliciency of the pump. This undesirable clearance may be eliminated by simply loosening the nuts on `bolt 89 and removing the proper number of shims 87 from each of the three groups of shims which are positioned between case 21 and adapter 73. Usually, the same number of shims 87 will be removed from each group of shims inasmuch as the wear just described will be substantially even, It can be appreciated that the shims 87 are easily removable inasmuch as tab portions 141 protrude outwardly to facilitate the grasping of the same. The shim 87 is simply moved outwardly with respect to bolts 89 which causes the bolts 89 to disengage with the openings 143 and 145. Bolts 89l are then retightened and the undesirable clearance is eliminated due to the fact that the tightening of the bolts 89 will draw the pump case 21 towards the impeller means 105. It may be necessary to loosen `bolts 25 to facilitate the slight movement of case 21.

From time to time it may also be desirable to completely replace the volute 91, seal plate 99 and the impeller means 105 upon suicient wear thereof or if the specifications of the pump are to be changed for any reason. The volute seal plate and impeller means may be easily removed due to the unique construction of the pump. Bolts 29 are first removed which permits the the case cover 27 to be removed from the pump thereby providing access to the interior of the pump case 21. The bolts are then removed which permits the volute 91 and seal plate 99 to be removed from the interior 0f pump case 21. Locking screw 107 is removed and the impeller means is threadably removed from the end of drive shaft 19 and removed from the pump case 21. A new or different impeller means is then secured to shaft 19 and a new or different volute 91 and seal plate 99 is secured to case 21 by re-insertion of the bolts 95. The case cover 27 is again installed on the pump case 21 by means of 4bolts 29. It may be necessary to add more shims -87 so that the impeller means and volute will be properly positioned with respect to each other. The shims are added by simply loosening the nuts on bolts 89 and the shims are simply slidably inserted between case 21 and adapter 73 so that the openings 143 and 145 are received by adjacent bolt members 89 as illustrated in FIG. 3. When the proper number of shims have been inserted, bolts 89 are retightened. Thus, it can be seen that the unique construction of the pump permits easy and rapid disassembly thereof to repair or replace the various components thereof. The unique construction of the pump eliminates the need for core casting of the components which greatly reduces the cost of manufacture thereof. The construction of the pump permits the volute and impeller means therein to be interchanged to replace worn parts or to permit the specifications of the pump to be changed.

The design of the shim elements 87 are extremely irnportant since they permit the insertion without full dismantling of the pump. Heretofore, the pumps utilized gaskets which required the full dismantling of the pump to change the same. Preferably, the shims 87 should be constructed of a suitable steel material. Preferably, impeller means 105, volute 91, pump case 21, case cover 31, housing 109 and adapter 73 are constructed of a cast iron material. The seal plate 99 is preferably constructed of core-ten steel.

Housing 119 is sometimes termed a pump side and it is possible to remove this part by removing the nuts on the four bolts 90 without dismantling the case or discharge piping. The advantage in `being able to remove housing 119 is that seal 129 can be replaced without dismantling the pump.

Thus it can be seen that the pump accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my pump means without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. In a pump,

a first hollow housing having a flange portion,

a hollow case detachably secured to Said housing and having first and second open ends and a body portion, a flange portion at said :first end positioned adjacent said flange port-ion on said first housing, said open first end defining a circular wall portion,

said case having a discharge opening formed in its body portion,

a cover secured to said case at its second end and having an intake opening formed therein and a throat portion extending inwardly therefrom towards said sec ond end,

a volute detachably secured to said case in the interior thereof having an intake end in communication with the inner end of said throat portion and having a discharge opening in communication with said diS- charge opening in said case,

a drive shaft rotatably extending through said irst housing into said case from said one end,

an impeller means mounted on said drive shaft in said volute,

a seal plate between said volute and said case first end having a central opening which receives the periphery of said impeller means,

a second housing embracing said drive shaft in said first housing and having a peripheral portion sealably engaging said circular wall portion.

2. The pump of claim 1 wherein said impeller means includes a plurality of blades having a wear surface adapted to rotate closely adjacent a wear surface in said volute and wherein a plurality of shim elements are removably mounted between said flange portion of said first housing and said ange portion on said case to permit the selective adjustment of the clearance between the wear surfaces of said volute and said impeller blades.

3. The pump of claim 2 wherein said case is detachably secured Ito said first housing by a plurality of bolt members extending therebetween and wherein said shim elements have slots formed therein which are adapted to receive adjacent bolt members therein.

4. The pump of claim 3 wherein said shim elements are each substantially crescent shaped having inner and outer ends, said slots extending inwardly into said shim elements from the inner end thereof, said shim elements each have a tab portion extending from the outer end thereof to facilitate the insertion and removal of said shim elements from between said flange-s.

5. The pump of claim 4 wherein said shim elements have a slot formed therein adjacent its opposite ends.

6. The pump of claim 1 wherein a check valve means is operatively secured to said case cover at said intake opening.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,037,961 4/ 1936 Boden 3018-244 2,566,249 8/1951 Rainey et al. 308--244 2,945,448 7/1960 Frederick 103-113 3,103,177 9/1963 Gatto et al. 10'3--113 3,272,137 9/1966 Maitlen et al. 103-113 3,276,385 10/1966 Marlow 103-113 FOREIGN PATENTS 285,335 2/1928 Great Britain.

HENRY F. RADUAZO, Primary Exan'zz'nel'.

U.S. Cl. XR. 10344111, 113 

